


Warm

by flootzavut



Series: Polar Bear [1]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Episode Related, Episode Tag, Episode: s01e11 Eye Spy, F/M, Humour, Kibbs, Polar Tanning, Season/Series 01, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-06
Updated: 2016-02-06
Packaged: 2018-05-18 11:23:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5926702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flootzavut/pseuds/flootzavut
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"And her inner bad girl really, really wants to pay him back for getting her so flustered, and against her will, a plan begins to form in her mind."</p><p>Kate's never indulged in polar tanning before, but she's not one to back down when provoked...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Warm

**Author's Note:**

> Because even by their standards, Kate and (especially) Gibbs are _exceptionally_ flirty during Eye Spy.

* * *

**_Warm_ **

* * *

 

"Why hasn't she got the message already?" Tony's voice is doing the whiny, desperate thing Kate probably shouldn't find so amusing.

"You should be grateful to her, Anthony. We might never have solved the case if it weren't for her polar tanning."

Ducky takes Tony by the arm and drags him off toward the elevators, and she smiles to herself as she hears Ducky start in on one of his amusing and outlandish stories.

She doesn't even notice Gibbs' approach, and when she turns around, he's so close behind her she gasps in surprise.

"Gibbs!" It comes out much too much like a squeak.

"So, our polar bear saved the day, I guess," he murmurs, and she tries to ignore how he's so near she can feel his breath on her mouth.

"I guess," she manages. "I never thought the quest for a perfect tan would help solve a murder."

He studies her face for a long, long moment, then smirks. "So tell me, Agent Todd, how did you know what 'polar tanning' meant?"

"Uh-" Oh, how does he always make her tongue-tied so easily? It's equal parts annoying and annoyingly winning. "I, um." There's no safe answer to this, as he well knows.

His smirk stretches into a mischievous grin, yet another thing she hates how much she loves. "Feel free to come sunbathe in my yard anytime, Kate. Hate for you to get tan lines."

Her cheeks are so hot with embarrassment (well... mostly embarrassment) she must be glowing, and she has no idea how to respond. She probably  _should_  be appalled, but he's been more than usually flirtatious with her this entire case, for some reason, keeps throwing her those warm, intimate looks, and appalled is taking a backseat to secretly delighted and not wanting him to stop.

He grins still more widely, looking enormously pleased with himself for leaving her speechless. She shakes her head, although she can't wipe the grin off her own face, and shoves his shoulder in a way even she has to categorise as coquettish and playful. He shoots her a wink, then he's walking past her to his desk, and she's just grateful Tony wasn't nearby to overhear this little exchange. She'd never live it down, and she really doesn't need  _both_  of them teasing her.

Probably the best way to get Gibbs back, she realises as she gathers up her things, would be to take him at his word.

She tries to imagine what his reaction would be to discovering her in his backyard, naked. She really honestly doesn't know  _exactly_ , but she  _is_  certain it would surprise or maybe even shock him, at least for a moment, and the adventurous younger self who was always getting into scrapes, and who she's never quite managed to tame, is goading her on. She shakes her head and tries to reassure herself she would never,  _could_  never do anything so reckless, so forward, so unbelievably foolish.

And then she's heading home, and when she glances over at Gibbs' desk to say goodbye, he's watching her, a wicked twinkle in his eye, a smirk on his lips, and she knows she's going pink again even as she croaks out a parting greeting and scurries away, his laughter following her, taunting her. And her inner bad girl really,  _really_  wants to pay him back for getting her so flustered, and against her will, a plan begins to form in her mind.

* * *

It's stupid, on so many levels, and yet she finds herself driving to Gibbs' house the following Saturday. The whole way there, she's trying to argue herself out of it, but somehow she doesn't stop, and then she's creeping through his home and making her way out to the backyard and undressing as if she's compelled by some irresistible force. She can't decide if it's revenge or that wicked grin of his or simply the fact she's sick and tired of trying to pretend she doesn't want him and doesn't want him to want her.

She's nervous and excited at the same time. She's sure he meant the invitation, more or less, and equally sure he never imagined she'd ever actually take him up on it.

It's surprising how much the cold isn't bothering her, or maybe it's the heat and excitement building up in her belly. She dearly hopes he comes out here on his days off, doesn't just go down into his basement and work on his boat, because she's not sure she'll have the guts for a repeat performance if he doesn't discover her this time.

Stripping down to her bikini is chilly but not too nerve-racking. She has a good body and she knows it, and she's seen Gibbs (and DiNozzo, and McGee) look at it often enough she's confident he agrees, but even the briefest of bikinis isn't the same as nudity.

She grits her teeth and tells herself not to be a wimp, because now she's here she might as well just go for it, and after one more look around to ensure none of the nearby houses actually overlook the verandah at the back of his house which seems to be her safest venue, she takes it off in a hurry before she can change her mind and arranges herself facedown on the lounger. She shivers with a mixture of cold and nerves and excitement, wondering how long it'll take him to find her, if he does, and how long she should wait before giving this up as a bad idea.

Then, so much sooner than she expected, she hears footsteps, and tenses. It's too late to change her mind, she can't possibly escape now without being seen, and seen naked at that, and so she tries to keep her breathing slow and even and to act like sunbathing nude at your boss's house is no big deal.

She can hear him whistling something - she thinks it might be the Marine Corps hymn - before the door slams open, and she can hear the exact moment he sees her and the whistle turns into a strangled gasp. She's glad she chose to lie on her front, both to maintain her dignity a little longer and to hide her amusement.

"Hi... Kate..." He sounds like he's speaking with exaggerated care, which she supposes is a fair reaction to discovering a colleague stark naked in his backyard.

"Hi," she says, keeping her voice as casual as she possibly can. "Thought I'd take you up on that offer."

She would swear she could  _hear_  him gulp. "Yeah... Yeah, I can  _see_  that." After a long moment she hears him walk along the verandah to the chair next to her, and she turns her head to look at him as he sits down.

He doesn't catch her eye at first.

His mouth is hanging slightly open, and he's drinking her in like she's an oasis in the desert. He swallows a couple more times and blinks, as if he's expecting her to turn out to be a mirage after all, then finally he gets back to her face and shakes his head, grinning a little. "Din't expect you to take me up on the offer so quick."

 _Or ever_ , she's sure he's adding in his head.

She smiles. "You don't mind, do you?"

He clears his throat. "Uh, no. No, I really..." He blinks again. His gaze keeps travelling the length of her. "'S okay."

She gets the distinct impression he's trying to stay professional and not stare, but he's really not succeeding so well. Which pleases her. Greatly. "Okay. Good to know."

He looks fairly stunned. He gives her another once over, licks his lips, and his eyes are as dark as she's ever seen them, intense and covetous.

"You okay?" he finally manages. "Want a drink, or... anything?"

She bites her lip on another laugh. He's trying so hard to act normal, and yet she'd bet if she weren't lying here naked, he wouldn't give a damn about being a good host. Her nudity has shocked him into courtesy, and it's fairly hilarious.

She debates asking for a coffee - it is, after all, really quite cold - but she wants to hold on to the way he's looking at her, wants him to stay out here, doesn't want to risk him getting all sensible on her just when she's finally coaxed  _that_  expression out of him.

And she can think of other, better ways to keep warm, and although she never thought she'd have the guts to go through with it, she did have a request planned in case of this contingency, one she thinks will be much more likely to lead to the end result for which she's hoping. _In for a penny_.

She takes a deep breath and picks up her bottle of sun cream. "Would you do the honours?"

He looks at the bottle, then into her eyes, then at the bottle again, before taking another long look at her body. And gulps. "You, uh-" He shakes his head. "You want me to, uh-?"

She smiles brightly. "Yes please, if that's okay. Winter sun isn't as strong, but it can still burn if you have fair skin."

His eyes flicker down her body again, and he swallows. "Uh-huh."

It's a tipping point - it could be the thing that makes him come to his senses, throw a blanket over her, leave her to it, or just order her to get dressed and go home. Or it could be an excuse for him to have his hands on her and give in to the desire she thinks and hopes is mutual.

She tries to keep her expression casual, even as she holds her breath, and then he's taking the bottle from her and she just barely resists the temptation to jump up and do a victory dance.

There's the click of the lid opening, and she shivers as he drizzles lotion between her shoulder blades, then finally he's touching her, and good God, it'll be a miracle if she leaves this place without jumping him, unless he jumps her first - and she really rather hopes he might.

She clamps her mouth closed so she doesn't actually moan aloud at the feel of his big rough hands, so gentle on her skin, but she can't do much about the way her heartbeat races and her breathing stutters. She can hear his breath come harder and faster and harsher, too, and she's glad it's not just her who's finding this... tempting. Dear Lord, his  _hands_...

He's thorough and - dare she even think it? - tender, and even though his breathing (and his body language, when she turns her head to look) are  _screaming_  he's having all sorts of utterly inappropriate thoughts, he works his way down her body with barely a sound, applying the suncream as carefully and thoroughly to her backside and thighs as he did to her shoulders, without lingering any more or less, and the only comment he makes is to say 'Nice tat' as he taps it with one finger.

By the time he reaches her feet, she's practically vibrating with arousal, and if he doesn't come through for her on this, she's going to have to go home and have a  _really_  long shower, or possibly just go out and seduce the first man she can find who looks like he'd let her sit on his face.

Gibbs sinks heavily back into his chair, and when she looks over, he's staring at her again, no longer making any effort to hide just how much he wants her. "This some kinda punishment for teasin' you, Katie?" His voice is rough and needy, and she really loves hearing it and knowing it's because of her.

"If I wanted to  _punish_  you, Gibbs, I wouldn't have taken all my clothes off."

His eyebrows shoot up in genuine surprise. "Oh, is that so?" He gives her another slow, slow once over, then shakes his head, a slightly sad smile on his face. "I dunno, Kate. Givin' me a look at what I can't have sorta seems like you're punishin' me for somethin'."

She studies him. The response she wants to give feels uncomfortably exposing. But then, she  _is_  naked here. How much more exposed can she get?

Insofar as she'd had any plans for how this outing should go, she'd mostly thought in terms of giving Gibbs the shock of his life and leaving him speechless. Job done. But she's always wanted more. And suddenly it seems remarkably possible.

His open, honest appreciation is already a thousand times more frank than she's ever dared imagine he'd be with her. She might be naked, but she's not the only one who's exposed. Besides, she's truly sick of pretending to be happy with the way things are between them.

So before she can second guess herself any more, she says exactly what she's thinking. "Who says you can't have me?"

Another look of surprise, and another shake of his head. "The rules. NCIS. Common sense."

"'Common sense'?" She laughs. "Who are you and what did you do with the real Leroy Jethro Gibbs?"

He chuckles softly. "He's doin' his best to do the right thing, Katie." He's still looking at her like he's ready to devour her at a moment's notice, but he's conspicuously  _not_  making any move even to touch her again.

"The 'right thing'?" It's Kate's turn to shake her head. "Don't you think sometimes you deserve to get what you want?"

"Lotta things I prob'ly deserve," he says, his voice strained. "Pretty sure you ain't of one 'em."

"But you want me?"

He lets out a long sigh, drags his gaze back to her face. "'Course I want you, Kate. Who wouldn't?" He gives her a rueful smile. "Don't mean it'd be right. And you, you deserve... better."

"Don't I get a say in what I deserve?" She searches his expression. "Don't you think maybe I deserve to get what  _I_  want?"

He looks at her disbelievingly. "And what you want is  _me_? Yeah, right." He huffs. "I'm not someone you wanna toy with Katie, trust me."

Part of her hurts for him, for the bite in his tone, his automatic assumption she couldn't possibly be serious about him.

Another part of her wants to  _shake_  him for being short-sighted and for not believing her. She thinks of their frustrating,  _maddening_  status quo, of how many times she's wished he'd quit flirting and actually make a move, and the second part wins.

She doesn't give him any warning, any chance to avert his eyes, just rolls on her side and glares at him in challenge.

His eyes are wide, shocked, "Kate, what-?" He's confused, surprised, and, if she had to guess, very turned on. She can see how much effort he's making not to give in to temptation.

"It's okay, Gibbs. I don't mind. You can look."

He swallows. "I- don't- it's not-"

"Maybe I  _want_  you to look."

His eyes grow even wider. Wide and desperate. "I got-" He gulps audibly. "I got  _excellent_  peripheral vision, Kate."

"Oh, I see." She grins. "Still, wouldn't you like to look properly?" She glances down at herself, and a wicked thought occurs to her. She cocks an eyebrow. "It's  _really_  cold out here, you know."

His self-control is remarkable, but it's not infinite. He groans. For a couple more seconds he maintains eye contact, then his eyelids flicker, and finally his attention is pulled down and he's looking at her nipples, licking his lips in a way she's sure is involuntary.

She sort of expected him to leave it at that, but it seems now he's started he can't stop. He minutely inspects her, and he might not be touching her, but it's so intense it's almost as if he is. Her breasts, the line of her body, her stomach, her thighs, and down between her legs, where he licks his lips again and she shivers with anticipation.

"Katie..."

"What?"

He shakes his head and looks back up into her face. "You're beautiful," he says, simply and honestly, and she'd thought his hungry expression as he drank her in was a turn on, but now she's  _dissolving_.

"Thank you," she murmurs.

His eyes are so full, so focused on her, so  _wistful_. It's not an expression she's seen on his face before now, and it aches, tugs at something in her. She wants him, has for an age, and clearly he wants her too, but suddenly she also wants to make him realise he is  _worth_  wanting.

He sits like a statue, one hand clasped in the other as if to make sure he doesn't give in and reach for her. Everything about him is tense, as if he's terribly afraid of doing the wrong thing, and it's near unfathomable to discover anything about  _her_  might scare  _him_.

She's not sure how much of his apparent inability to move is his attempt to be noble by turning her down, and how much is just surprise and disbelief she's coming on to him at all, but either way she decides it's time for shock and awe tactics. Slowly and deliberately, she sits up, gets up, takes the two steps over to the chair where he's sitting.

He gulps again. "Kate-"

"What?"

"You are..." His hands twitch in his lap, his eyes are all over her body, and she gets the impression he's just barely stopping himself from touching.

"Tell me no," she says. "If you don't want me, want this, tell me no."

He opens his mouth, but nothing comes out, and now his hands are spread as if in welcome, like he can't help but say 'yes' with his body despite his protests to the contrary.

She slings a leg over his, resting her hands on his chest for balance as she slowly sits down, and he lets out a sigh that sounds almost like relief.

"Oh, Jesus, Katie..."

As she settles into his lap, she gets a close up preview of exactly how he's reacting, and she nestles snugly down against him with a satisfied moan.

He grasps her hips, looks surprised at himself for doing so. His hands are warm on her chilled skin, and it's delicious.

"Oh God, yes," he murmurs. " _Yes_."

If she had to put a word to his tone of voice as he surrenders, she'd have to go with grateful. She grins as she presses against him, smiles even as she catches his ear between her teeth. He feels so good, all his solidity and heat against her body, the rough textures of his clothing against her stomach and breasts, and she groans and pulls herself in closer.

His fingers sweep lightly up her spine, trace her shoulders and her ribcage and back down to her hips, and then he does it again, and it makes her shiver with something besides cold.

For a few minutes, she moves happily against him, then he's tangling a hand in her hair and pulling her away from where she's sucking on his neck, and she opens her mouth to protest but is stopped short when he leans in to kiss her.

His mouth is hot and tender, and his kiss starts slow and thorough. One of his hands is still on the back of her head, holding her close, and the other slides slowly down to caress her backside and pull her harder into his erection as he explores her. She grinds against it with a groan, and he shudders, she sucks on his tongue, and he gets more eager, more insistent, more frantic, just... more.

He's making hungry, desperate noises into her mouth, clinging on to her like he's drowning and she's dry land. It's want and need and passion all shaken together and poured out over her, and she sinks into it willingly. He's so unexpectedly gentle, even as he nips at her lips and tilts her head so he can kiss her deeper and harder, twists his hand tighter into her hair.

He rolls his hips up against her in time with her movements, and when she finally, reluctantly breaks away because she can't quite catch her breath, he watches her, so intently, his lips open a little, his eyes drinking her in.

She whimpers, overwhelmed, and his mouth quirks up into a disbelieving smile. "That's it, Katie. That's it. God, you're beautiful." He chuckles. "Amazin', you've no idea. You're amazin'."

He's looking at her with something more than arousal, more even than appreciation, looking at her with wonder and surprise, shaking his head, laughing again. His hand slips from her head, down her back, then over her hip and down between her legs, and she gasps, her eyes closing, as his fingers slide into her and his thumb skims over her clit.

"Oh God," she murmurs, and can't even summon the will to glare at him when she hears his amusement.

She's always liked his hands, thought them strong and capable - has always, ever since that first, overlong handshake, had an abiding, guilty curiosity about what it would be like if he touched her.  _Really_  touched her.

He's not shy about touching her to correct her stance on the shooting range, to push her out of danger or just casually grab her and move her wherever he wants her to be, but she's always... noticed. Always wondered if he had other talents besides woodwork and marksmanship.

Turns out, he really does.

He explores her as gently and yet thoroughly as he explored her mouth, and she's already breathing hard before he even finds the perfect angle inside her. Then,  _then_  she's shaking and begging, and he chuckles again as he touches her in all the right places, and he's really too good with his hands for her sanity.

She feels his lips on the side of her neck, then he nibbles her ear, tasting her, breathing her in. "Katie, my Katie," he murmurs into her skin, and it's so soft, so gentle,  _so_  not a voice she's used to hearing from him. She's not even sure he means to say it out loud, but he keeps saying it, over and over, staking his claim against her jaw and down her throat and along her collarbone. She can't speak, can't agree, can't tell him out loud she's happily his, so instead she clings on tighter and pushes against his touch, strokes her fingers through his hair, hopes he'll understand she's his for the taking, his for the keeping.

He kisses the top of her breast, warm and open mouthed, and she gasps, her hands tightening around his head. He moves lower, and if his warm hands on her chilly flesh were good, his mouth is sex and tenderness and heat and she wants it  _everywhere_.

Her head falls back as her spine arches, his mouth finds her nipple, and she groans and it's too much, her body gives in, and she falls to pieces in his lap, coming apart into a shuddering mess.

He gathers her up and holds her close and he's still whispering nearly inaudible promises against her skin, and she misses most of it but what she hears is wonder and desire and  _joy_. He laughs softly and rubs a hand up and down her back, and it'd make her melt if she hadn't already dissolved into a floppy puddle.

"You're freezing," he murmurs.

She snuggles into his chest. "I could put my clothes back on."

He tightens his arms around her and she can feel him shake his head. "Gotta be honest, not wild about that idea, Katie."

"Me either." She cranes her head to look up at him. "I'd rather get you out of yours." She grins. "There must be a better way to warm me up."

He laughs again, cradles her jaw in his hand, his thumb tenderly stroking her cheek. She's never seen his face so open, his smile so untainted by sarcasm or bitterness.

For a moment he just looks at her, then he's kissing her, gentle and soft and delicious. There's no hesitation in it now, and no desperation, just warmth and affection and quiet, heartfelt passion. She burrows into him, wraps herself around him, her hands sneaking up into his clothing to touch the skin of his back, and he shivers at her cold fingers but moans and deepens the kiss.

It's full and unreserved and she feels it all the way to her toes, and when he pulls away, she can't help sucking her bottom lip into her mouth, to capture the taste and feel of him just a little longer. He chuckles at her, his thumb nudging her teeth away.

"Think I should be the only one who gets to bite your lip, Katie," he says with a grin. "Much too distractin' when you do it."

She can feel her cheeks turning pink. "Does that mean I get to bite yours?"

"Def'nitely."

"Then I think it's a fair exchange."

He slowly sits up in the chair, one arm under her backside and the other under her shoulders. Instinctively, she wraps her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, then she's clinging on like a monkey as he gets to his feet.

"My clothes-" she protests, as he starts indoors.

He laughs. "Ah, you won't be needing those," he breathes in her ear.

She headslaps him. "Gibbs! You can't just leave them out here, what if someone-" She pauses. Okay, she can't actually think of a scenario where a thief manages to creep into Gibbs' house undetected and what they choose to steal is a pile of women's clothing, but...

"Just have to keep you naked forever, wouldn't I?"

Gibbs looks all too pleased about the prospect. Kate headslaps him again.

He chuckles. "I'll come gather them up after, promise." He nuzzles into the side of her neck as he shoulders the door open. "Right now I got more important things to do, like gettin' you warm."

His voice has got even lower and huskier. Her stomach does a flip-flop and she squirms. "Oh."

They make it to his living room, where there's a fire in the grate. He puts her down on his couch, throws another log on the fire; it's cosy and undeniably romantic. Then he's sitting down beside her and pulling her back into his arms.

"Okay with you?" he murmurs.

"Mmhm." She wriggles against him. "Is this how you plan to warm me up?"

"Well, this and sharin' body heat." He sucks on her earlobe and chuckles again. "I hear tell skin to skin is the best."

She can't help but smile. "Is that so?" she asks, as she unbuttons his shirt.

"Uh-huh."

"Since you're a Marine and all, I guess I'll follow your lead."

"First time for everythin'," he says, then yelps when she slips her hands under his t-shirt. "Cold!"

She snickers. "Aren't you supposed to be helping me with that?" she asks, coyly, sliding the t-shirt up and taking his shirt with it, grinning happily at what she finds underneath. Half-naked Gibbs very much meets with her approval, and she rather likes his reaction to her touch, too.

The second it's off over his head, he's nibbling her ear again. "Wicked girl, you are," he informs her, in a low, rumbling voice which suggests he really,  _really_  likes said wickedness.

She wraps her arms eagerly around his body. He shivers again as her chilly fingers trace the outlines of bones and muscles, and lets out a soft noise, half protest, half arousal.

"Toughen up, Marine."

His attempt at a glare is seriously undermined by the twinkle in his eyes and the involuntary grin. "You got a damn cheek, Caitlin Todd."

She laughs aloud. "Yeah? What're you going to do about that, Gibbs?"

He studies her face for a second, and his smile widens. He kisses her, slow and deep and tender, until she's squirming and whining, her hands clenched desperately in his hair. His body covers hers, warm and strong as he pushes her down into the couch, and she clings on like he's a life raft in the middle of an ocean.

By the time they resurface, Kate can hardly catch her breath, never mind speak, and judging by Gibbs' grin, it shows.

"Gonna get you so  _warm_ you won't have a cheeky bone left in your body." His expression leaves no room to doubt as to  _how_  he plans to warm her up. "You gotta problem with that?"

She blinks, and shakes her head. She's pretty sure he already exorcised her last cheeky comment with that kiss, not to mention the long, delicious length of him, his solid weight on top of her, but she's fully on board with getting as warm as he cares to make her.

He grins wider. "Good." He rocks his pelvis into hers, and she whines again at the feel of him even through his pants. "Okay, polar bear. Let's see if I can't make you melt."

Kate's absolutely certain, as Gibbs leans down to kiss her again, that by the time he's done with her, she's going to be a puddle on the couch.

Polar tanning turned out to be a  _lot_  more fun than she expected.

_~ fin ~_


End file.
